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Crossrail officials “drove unnecessary cost into the programme” and “clung to an unrealistic timetable”, the Government’s spending watchdog has found.

The National Audit Office said cracks in the schedule to deliver Europe’s biggest infrastructure project began to show four years ago, but the programme was “dominated” by those involved sticking to a completion date of December 2018.

The landmark project to link Reading with Essex, spearing through the heart of London, was originally allocated a £14.8bn budget that included contingencies in 2010.

Completion has now been delayed back to as late as March 2021, with total funding spiralling to £17.6bn.

In a scathing analysis, the NAO concluded: “A compressed schedule, the contractual model, the loss of downward pressure on costs, and the absence of an achievable plan were set against an atmosphere where ‘can do’ became unrealistic.”

Crossrail said it shared the “frustration” of Londoners over its delayed start date.

Chief executive Mark Wild said: “A new leadership team and enhanced governance structure has been put in place to strengthen the Crossrail programme and put the project back on track.”

As one of the entities charged with oversight of the project, the Department for Transport said it was “deeply disappointed by the programme delays and cost overruns”.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan visits a Crossrail station under constructionCredit:
Jonathan Brady/PA

Costs had “increased substantially” across “most” of the rail link’s 36 contracts, the report found. Changes to design and installation cost an additional £2.5bn between 2013 and 2018.

Crossrail originally hired project management specialists from Bechtel and Transcend to oversee the work of multiple contractors.

However, in 2011 it decided to fold the teams from the private companies into their own team “rather than hold them at arm’s length and accountable for integration of the overall programme”.

NAO head Amyas Morse said: “Throughout delivery, and even as pressures mounted, Crossrail Ltd clung to the unrealistic view that it could complete the programme to the original timetable, which has had damaging consequences.

“DfT and TfL must support the new Crossrail Ltd executive team to get the railway built without unrealistic cost or time expectations.

He continued: “While we cannot make an overall assessment of value for money until Crossrail is complete, there have been a number of choices made in the course of this project that have clearly damaged public value.”

A Government spokesman said: “As soon as Crossrail Ltd admitted delay, the Department and TfL acted swiftly to identify lessons, change the leadership of the Crossrail Ltd Board, and strengthen governance and oversight.”

A spokesman for Mr Khan said: "The Mayor fully supports the involvement of the National Audit Office in scrutinising Crossrail. Sadiq was deeply angry and frustrated when he found out about the delay to Crossrail last year."